Seatle got SCREWED

[mastermopar]

    I do not remember seing so many "PHANTOM" penalty calls all against 1 team.. I really could have cared less who won. I just believe it would have been a way better game without the "PHANTOM" calls.....

1) The mystery "push off" offensive pass interference for the touchdown that never counted.

2) The 2 "mystery" holding calls to put both field goal attempts over 50 yards.

3) Then another mystery holding call when Seatle complete a pass to the 2 yard line negating the whole play.

4) The best call of all.. Instead of 1st & goal @ the 2 the next play results in an interception where the Seatle quarteback tackles the dude intercepting the pass & then gets called for a personal foul for blocking below the waist.. Looked like a tackle to me........

5) On top of that , The clock is obviously way past zero & Pittsburg is allowed to call a time out..?? Rather than a 5 yard penalty & 3 & 11 Pittsburg gets the gift time out & makes the easy 3rd down & 5 ........

Only 2 Penalties on Pittsburg ... 2 5 yard false start calls @ the beginning of the game.. Plenty of bogus calls on Seatle...

I am not biased towards any team.. I am from Michigan, Home of the Lions..

In my opinion this game was fixed.. Seatle never had a chance..

Cheers , Jeff

[Bandit72]

i agree, i wasn't really cheering for anyone either just to clear that up....

later 

[beedees]

Definitely a strange game that will be replayed numerous times. I don't follow football much anymore and I don't really care who wins, but it looks like Seattle sure got the shaft tonight.

[Grizzly]

Even Steve Young and Michael Irving were mystified at the "phantom fouls".

[5.9_Liter_Grand_Cherokee]

The only winners in that game were the refs.  The way I see it the game should have been 14 to 14 and going into overtime.  the steelers played a good game, and so did the seahawks.  Too bad we will never find out who would have won the game.

[Grizzly]

The only winners in that game were the refs.  The way I see it the game should have been 14 to 14 and going into overtime.  the steelers played a good game, and so did the seahawks.  Too bad we will never find out who would have won the game.

That is, perhaps the most intelligent statement I have heard to date.

[gunner]

yah that game was a joke i hated halftime and the refs were just Bein *&^*ing dumb

[OldGuy]

Former QB Danny White was asked on a local news/sports station who he thought should have gotten the MVP for the Super Bowl. 
His answer - "Probably the officials!!"

[8WHEELER]

GO STEELRS 

LOOK GUYS ITS ONE OF THE REFS     NICE CALL BUD. HOPE THE PAY WAS GOOD 

[NHCharger]

GO STEELRS 

LOOK GUYS ITS ONE OF THE REFS     NICE CALL BUD. HOPE THE PAY WAS GOOD 

[RallyeMike]

On the flip side, even with the one-sided officiating, the game was Seattle's to win or lose. If I was a Steelers fan, I would be happy with the end result, but certainly not proud of their overall performance.

DEFENSE: The Hawks dominated the Steelers with their defence but made a some key mistakes. Slighlty less than 1/2 of the Steelers yards came from three plays. One of which was a hail Mary grab enable by the QB's persuer falling down (went to the bathroom during this play and when I came back they QB was still running around!). The second was a breakaway run past the secondary which was out of place. The third was a trick play that caught the Hawks with their pants down. Otherwise, the Hawks defense shut the Steelers down completely in the first half, and did a pretty good job in the second.

OFFENSE: The Hawks controlled the game, but dropped at least 4 critical passes and could have worked the clock better.

The officiating is often bad. This will never be overcome in the NFL. Its part of the game. In reality, the best the refs can do is deal it out in fair portions. There is a LOAD of stuff that NEVER gets called. Since the Hawks were the only team making any plays on a consistent basis, most of the penalties were going to effect them.   

Seattle definitely was the better executing team, but they made some key mistakes and were hobbled by the refs. The Steelers? They are just plain mediocre. I predict a .500 record for them next year.   

[nh_mopar_fan]

One word to describe that game.

SUCKED.

The refs sucks. Jeremy Stevens sucked. Roethlisberger sucked. He was pathetic.

What a terrible game.

[THE COLONEL]

Even though I'm from Pittsburgh, I have to agree that both teams sucked.  I think the "Phantom Push Off" should have been a touchdown, and I really don't think Ben got into the endzone.  When he got up the ball was on his stomach, unless it rolled from his chest from goal line to his stomach, but I think he was short.

[69_500]

Well the phantom push off one I'll give ya, I think that should have been a touchdown. The Rothlesburger touchdown run is iffy. If it had been ruled he was short it would have stood under revue as well. There wasn't definate video evidence either way, so you have to stand by what is called on the field.
The phantom holding that negated the catch to the 2 yard line is what killed them though. There was no holding on that play.
Good exciting game to watch though. next year hopefully my Dolphins will be in it.

[mastermopar]

   All the plays I mentioned above in my first thread were obvious BUT 1 play in particular STANDS OUT in my mind...

   This is what absolutely fused me.. & again I really could have cared less who won. I was actually hoping for the Stee;ers until all the bogus calls & it became OBVIOUS TO ME what was taking place.. 

*Hasselback tosses his only interception..

     Hasselback dives to make the tackle tacking the ball carrier

        Hasselback gets penalized 15 Yards for "BLOCKING" below the waist on "Takling" the ball carrier.. 

*Pittsburg gets ball @ near midfield thanks to the bogus personal foul .........

*** NOW COMES THE PLAY THAT BURNS THE SHIT OUT OF ME... ------------->>

**Pittsburg 3 or 4 play later(who gives a shit when) uses there infamous "gadget play"

    As the reciever rolls out to get ready for an obvious pass Roethlesburger does a "CUT BLOCK" "BELOW THE WAIST" on the defender pursuing the reciever attempting to make the pass.. Of corse , No call touchdown Pittsburg..

Hassleback's Tackle was nowhere near a personal foul.
Roethlesburger's "CUT BLOCK" was an obvious personal foul...


Where they came up with that officiating crew is beyond me.. I had never heard of any of them & we all know the NFL'S best officials.. Where were they..

**All I wanted was a nice hard Football game..  This was not that... 

[volk68]

Interesting comments in this thread.  Since everyone seems to have an opinion on it, I'll throw mine in:

1.  Roethlisberger dive into the endzone...iffy, but not enough evidence to overturn.  At real game speed, this was a difficult call for any official to make.  Tough break for Seattle, but this call was completely understandable, and is part of the human element of the game.

2.  Of the two Seatle holding calls in this game (that I remember), only one of them was earned.  The first call was complete headlock by the Seattle Olineman.  The second call appeared to be a phantom hold.  Seattle has a right to be upset about that one.

3.  I saw no issue with the Roethlisberger timeout to avoid the delay flag...this happens all the time in the NFL.

4.  The offensive pass interference call was ticky-tack, but the arm bar from the receiver was just stupid.  He had separation without the push off, and he was right in front of the official.  The official might have called an iffy flag there, but if he hadn't and the Seahawks went on to win, he would be under just as much fire for having let that slide.  Still, it was the receiver's fault...you just don't do that in front of an official.

5.  The Hasselbeck personal foul.  This is something that the NFL needs to look at, not because of the Superbowl, but because of the health of players in general.  In the NFL, a "cut" block is fully allowed...so much so, that Denver and Atlanta preach the technique as the foundation for their blocking schemes on offense.  The operative term there, is OFFENSE.  Offense is allowed to cut block at will, defense however, will get called for a chop block every time.  Watch a running back pick up an inside linebacker blitz sometime, and you will see what I mean.  In the moment of the interception in this game, Hasselback goes from being on offense, to being just another defender.  This makes his hit an illegal move...something Hasselback probably never even considered, since he has likely done it before on offense, and at the very least has seen it done hundreds of times without penalty on the offensive side of the ball.  The NFL needs to make this call consistant.  It should not be legal for ANY player.

[mastermopar]

   THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE THE SUPER BOWL........

                  NOT THE SUPER BLOW..............

         I KNEW WHEN THEY SHOWED THE OFFICIALS THIS WAS GOING TO BE VERY BAD.. 5 YEARS EXPERIENCE.THE BIGGEST GAME OF THE YEAR....

HOW ABOUT THE PRE-GAME "NO FLY ZONE" BETWEEN THE RESPECTIVE 45 YARD LINES DURING PRE-GAME WARM UPS..


I CAN NOT EVEN FUNCTION TODAY...  "PATHETIC" IS AN UNDERSTATEMENT.........

[chargerboy69]

I am a STEELER fan. . .  .I will say that first. I do agree that the calls were BS. That was not a touchdown by Ben. But hey, I will take it. The refs sucked all through the playoffs. Most people agree that the Indy/Steeler game was the worst called game this post season. But the Steelers were strong enough to play through it. My opinion is Seattle had it's chances to win dispite the bad calls but could not get it done.

[mastermopar]

    YOU ARE RIGHT ABOUT THE COLTS/STEELERS GAME...
THERE ARE SOME MAJOR DIFFERENCES THOUGH.........

1) The Steelers had a nice lead in the game prior to the majority of the "BAD" calls..

2) The Steelers did not have a touchdown called back nor a big play called back during that game..


            Seatle still could have overcame this nonsense...

    Despite all the bad calls Seatle's special teams were just as bad as the officials...........

[volk68]

    YOU ARE RIGHT ABOUT THE COLTS/STEELERS GAME...
THERE ARE SOME MAJOR DIFFERENCES THOUGH.........

1) The Steelers had a nice lead in the game prior to the majority of the "BAD" calls..

2) The Steelers did not have a touchdown called back nor a big play called back during that game..


            Seatle still could have overcame this nonsense...

    Despite all the bad calls Seatle's special teams were just as bad as the officials...........

I have to take issue with you there.  There is NO SUCH THING as a NICE lead against the Colts.  They are the most dangerous team in the NFL, and proved it by coming back to almost tie it late.  Furthermore, if Troy Polamalu's interception hadn't been called back, the Colts would have been put to bed, instead, the Steelers wind up being a field goal away from overtime in that game.  I'm not trying to say that the bad calls in the Seattle game didn't have an impact, but your analogy is just off target. 

[OldGuy]

Volk68 quote:
5.  The Hasselbeck personal foul.  This is something that the NFL needs to look at, not because of the Superbowl, but because of the health of players in general.  In the NFL, a "cut" block is fully allowed...so much so, that Denver and Atlanta preach the technique as the foundation for their blocking schemes on offense.  The operative term there, is OFFENSE.  Offense is allowed to cut block at will, defense however, will get called for a chop block every time.  Watch a running back pick up an inside linebacker blitz sometime, and you will see what I mean.  In the moment of the interception in this game, Hasselback goes from being on offense, to being just another defender.  This makes his hit an illegal move...something Hasselback probably never even considered, since he has likely done it before on offense, and at the very least has seen it done hundreds of times without penalty on the offensive side of the ball.  The NFL needs to make this call consistant.  It should not be legal for ANY player.

Were we watching the same game?!!  Hasselback was making a tackle - I didn't see him hit any of the other Steelers that were running next to the ball carrier.  He was going in for a tackle not a block.  

[Ponch ®]

waaaah waaaaaah waaaaaah.

There was no 'phantom push'. The rules say you cant make contact with the other player. Period. That's the rule, and technically it was a correct call. Maybe it should have been a matter of judgment left to the official's discretion, but if we want to go that route, then you could argue that Hasselbeck's fumble after that run should have been called as one, since he was already on his way down when the Steeler's player's hand barely grazed him and it really had no bearing on him losing the ball. As far as Ben's TD, they made the best call they could. That was a hard call to make w/ replays from different angles, let alone live at full speed. Still, you need irrefutable evidence to overturn a call, and the replays didnt provide it. 

Here's the bottom line, and you 'hawks fans need to stop your whining:

The officials might have blown some calls but Seattle didnt really need their help in losing the game. Did the officials miss two field goals? Did they blow the coverage on Ward on that trick play? Did they throw an interception in the red zone and blow a chance to grab the lead? 

[twilt]

GO STEELRS 

LOOK GUYS ITS ONE OF THE REFS     NICE CALL BUD. HOPE THE PAY WAS GOOD 

Damn, I didnt think i would be so readily recognized. BTW- I am the ref that called Locklear for holding. My bank account is 100k fatter today and I am sitting on a beach in Hawaii having drinks. 
   

[gunner]

wouldn't doubt it i would be too Even with the 500k in my pocket even if the "seachickens" are my fav team

[chargerboy69]

Oh, Do you mean the Troy interception that was overturned was not a big play. That would have sealed the game away for Pittsburgh. They also had that interferance call, or no call on Randall El that was for sure a touchdown catch. I just feel that Seattle could have won that game even through the bad calls. HERE WE GO STEELERS. HERE WE GO. . . 

    YOU ARE RIGHT ABOUT THE COLTS/STEELERS GAME...
THERE ARE SOME MAJOR DIFFERENCES THOUGH.........

1) The Steelers had a nice lead in the game prior to the majority of the "BAD" calls..

2) The Steelers did not have a touchdown called back nor a big play called back during that game..


            Seatle still could have overcame this nonsense...

    Despite all the bad calls Seatle's special teams were just as bad as the officials...........